The Veep Thread

[Yawn]

There's talk that Hillary is trying to force her way onto the ticket. I feel like this is going to get nasty. I mean, nastier than it's gotten already.

The Dems' penalty for letting Che hang around this long. She will screw this up for you so that she can turn around and run in 2012. She and Bill have got to have some reason for staying married.

 

[nafselon]

Bill Nelson might be a decent pick out of Florida.

Bill Nelson is the classic unremarkable politician who was incredibly fortunate to run against Katherine Harris for reelection or he could have been in jeopardy. There is not a single soul in the state of Florida who would not have voted for Obama already that would do so because of Bill Nelson. Not only that, but with a GOP governor in Crist you would be giving them both Florida Senate seats with a Nelson VP win. Not a chance.

I'm not in the camp that thinks Florida's up for grabs. McCain plays to that state perfectly, both because of his age and because of the particular style of conservatism he practices. Crist is a lot like him, but he ain't gonna be McCain's choice.

Problem with the age thing is that most of the old folks in Florida (are the ones getting the shaft from current group of chickenhawks).

Florida is always up for grabs but I agree Bill Nelson shouldn't be his VP selection.

 

[deskslave]

Bill Nelson might be a decent pick out of Florida.

Bill Nelson is the classic unremarkable politician who was incredibly fortunate to run against Katherine Harris for reelection or he could have been in jeopardy. There is not a single soul in the state of Florida who would not have voted for Obama already that would do so because of Bill Nelson. Not only that, but with a GOP governor in Crist you would be giving them both Florida Senate seats with a Nelson VP win. Not a chance.

I'm not in the camp that thinks Florida's up for grabs. McCain plays to that state perfectly, both because of his age and because of the particular style of conservatism he practices. Crist is a lot like him, but he ain't gonna be McCain's choice.

Problem with the age thing is that most of the old folks in Florida (are the ones getting the shaft from current group of chickenhawks).

Florida is always up for grabs but I agree Bill Nelson shouldn't be his VP selection.

Shaft or not, they aren't putting the Demmycrats back in charge.

And no, Nelson doesn't get anywhere near the ticket. He doesn't deliver anything except a GOP Senate seat. And Obama doesn't want to make poor Fenian's head explode.

I'm beginning to think more and more that it'll be someone from the West/Southwest. That seems to be where the election might be decided. I just don't know that Richardson is all that exciting, but I don't know that Brian Schweitzer is either.

Of course, it would also be nice if candidates could choose a VP based on who they think would be good for the job, rather than who they think can deliver a particular state.

 

[nafselon]

Well being a resident here. I can say that Gov. Crist isn't part of the Bush Republican chain, he's quite different given his love for gambling and being potentially gay (not serious but it's a running joke here in St. Petersburg).

Florida is always up for grabs. Always. This state primary voter base is undecided.

 

[Starman]

It really bothers me when Catholic leaders say Catholic politicians shouldn't take communion due to their abortion stands, but don't have a problem when they sign off on executions. Which is the more direct sin?

The rationale (without arguing the specifics) is the unborn fetus is an "innocent child," while a convicted murderer has been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing a serious crime. If you accept the definitions, it makes sense.

Someone on one of the other threads (OK, it might have been d_b, but bear with me) mentioned some scuttlebutt about Carly Fiorina for the Republicans, which would be a total joke. But it got me thinking: What if one side or the other actually went into the business world and grabbed a big name from there? I don't really have an idea of their political leanings, but what if someone convinced, I don't know, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs to do it? There's certainly name recognition, if nothing else.

That was me. Obama must be hoping against hope McCain goes with Fiorina, an utterly qualifications-free, failed, fired corporate stooge-lackey who basically is a female version of Singleton/Jelenic. You couldn't possibly get someone to better epitomize the "Republicans as corporate bootlickers" stereotype (unless McCain decided to bring back Darth Palpacheney for another couple of terms).

I mean, Christ, if you're going to go to "private business" for a candidate (as if running a "private business" has much of anything to do with running a government -- the government is not a gosh darn profit enterprise), couldn't you get someone who was actually successful??

 

[deskslave]

Just saw a Washington Post story on the wire that lists five on each side.

In order, their theories are:

GOP
1. Tim Pawlenty
2. John Thune
3. Rob Portman
4. Charlie Crist
5. Mitt Romney

Dems
1. Kathleen Sebelius
2. Ted Strickland
3. Hillary
4. Tim Kaine
5. Sam Nunn

 

[Starman]

Just saw a Washington Post story on the wire that lists five on each side.

In order, their theories are:

GOP
1. Tim Pawlenty
2. John Thune
3. Rob Portman
4. Charlie Crist
5. Mitt Romney

Dems
1. Kathleen Sebelius
2. Ted Strickland
3. Hillary
4. Tim Kaine
5. Sam Nunn

Pawlenty has served a an emcee/guest star at many McCain rallies. My bet is unless they go completely stupid and go with Fiorina in a deluded attempt to lure disaffected Hillary boosters, he's the man.

Sebelius makes sense for Obama -- rope in most of the Hillary people with another female candidate with mostly-similar positions.

The idea of Hillary as VP makes some sense in terms of the Vito Corleone philosophy: "keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

The problem is, unlike Cabinet members and federal appointees, the Vice President does not serve at the pleasure of the President -- there's nothing to keep Hillary from acting like a nice dutiful VP for a few months or maybe a year, then going completely off the reservation and starting to publicly defy Obama with the goal of unseating him in 2012. Nothing would be juicier meat to the media than a VP publicly battling a President -- I don't think it's happened in 200 years (since the Constitution was amended so that the VP was no longer the defeated presidential opponent of the President -- in the days when gentlemen sometimes settled disputes by pistol duels, they suddenly realized it probably wasn't a very good idea for the VP to be somebody who really, really wanted to be President, right now ).

 

[PCLoadLetter]

McCain will pick Tim Robbins or Susan Sarandon before he picks Mitt Romney. They hate each other and Romney doesn't bring a damn thing to the ticket.

 

[Starman]

McCain will pick Tim Robbins or Susan Sarandon before he picks Mitt Romney. They hate each other and Romney doesn't bring a damn thing to the ticket.

Well, he is younger and apparently healthier than McCain, but for that matter, so is deck Cheney.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

McCain will pick Tim Robbins or Susan Sarandon before he picks Mitt Romney. They hate each other and Romney doesn't bring a damn thing to the ticket.

Well, he is younger and apparently healthier than McCain, but for that matter, so is deck Cheney.

"Younger and healthier than McCain" is a pretty wide net. I'm not sure that eliminates Chester Arthur. William Howard Taft is probably out, though.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Guys who might work well with Obama, Jim Webb and Wesley Clark.

Does anyone ever really vote for a president based on the VP on the ticket?

 

[Starman]

Guys who might work well with Obama, Jim Webb and Wesley Clark.

Does anyone ever really vote for a president based on the VP on the ticket?

I think McCain's pick is probably more important than most since, due to his age and health situation, voters realize there is actually a significant chance the GOP VP nominee will, in fact, succeed to the Presidency.

They can't get away with simply throwing an unqualified foof on there for ticket demographics. It's got to be somebody who could at least theoretically function in the WH.